Fletcher in the News

Koreas Agree to Further Talks, Inspect Joint Factory

North Korea met over the weekend with South Korea on its side of Panmunjom Peace Village, taking steps to normalize operations at the jointly maintained Kaesong Industrial park – an idled symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation….

… In the first few months of this year, North Korea was exceptionally hostile with its rhetoric, making violent threats against Seoul and Washington. Analysts say the more conciliatory approach seen in this weekend’s agreement to allow visits is part of a typical pattern of behavior where Pyongyang alternates threats with moves toward rapprochement.

“North Korea usually comes out swinging in the first half of the year, then in the second half launches a kind of peace offensive," says Sung-Yoon Lee, assistant professor of Korean studies at the Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. "It was preordained that North Korea would want to talk about restarting the [Kaesong] complex now.”